Write to me...
(August 5 1994)
Here's a brief history of the studio, and how we got
where we are today.
I started playing music when I was 17 (relatively late in life). I quickly got into the "band thing", and played in lots of groups. I almost immediately began putting together my own groups. Before too long, I was doing so many jobs in a group it was ridiculous. every band has someone in it like this, although some rare groups spread out the work a bit. I was manager, promoter, rehearsal coordinator, publisher, engineer, sound man, composer, arranger, producer and publicist. All that and I was performing with these groups, usually in the capacity of lead singer and instrumentalist. I tried joining groups run by others, but I was always convinced I could do a better job.
Since the demise of my last group, Modern Zoo, I've been trying to find a way to produce great music without driving myself nuts. That group broke up simply because after 3 years a few of the members graduated and moved away. It's been very tempting to start another band, but the Zoo had played all the best venues here in San Diego so, short of starting to tour, I was left with nothing else to look forward to but the same shows at the same clubs.
Here's what I did: I put my PA, bass, and guitar equipment together and realized I had the beginnings of a complete studio. I got a four-track recorder, and started looking for space. I managed to find a house with a huge garage, and moved in in mid-1992. At first, I was just using the room as a glorified rehearsal space, but it soon began to improve.
I can play bass and rhythm guitar at professional levels, and also sing professionally. What I needed was brass, keyboards, and drums and talented people to play those instruments. I also needed more composer/arrangers so that musical diversity would be maintained (although my own compositional styles are quite diverse). And, I needed some other singers to cover lots of vocal ranges and styles. I also intend on working up a list of "non-core" instrumentalists, like tuba, harmonica, percussions, etc., so I can get just about any sound I wanted without resorting to samples.
Erick Goldman appeared on the scene in late 1992. I needed a drummer to complete the equipment and talent pool in the studio, and Erick fit the bill. Go to his links for more info.
Now I had drums, bass, guitar, and PA, a start-up recording tool, and the beginnings of a talent pool. I decided at this early date to avoid digital recording and MIDI on principle, and stick with analog and "real instruments". This decision was made to both ease the financial strains and to simplify things, at least at first. I fully intend to implement MIDI in my studio, and I'll move into digital (at least for post-production) as soon as I can afford it.
I had already been playing with my brothers-in-law for many years, both informally and in "official" groups. Since Chester is an extremely good drummer and Mark is an equally talented guitarist, I was already well along in the talent pool. I contacted John Connelly and Josh Miller, former saxophonist and trumpeter, respectively, for Modern Zoo, and got them to join up, and found Dan Albert, outstanding trombonist for the local group Buck o' Nine. Dan is actually a high-school friend of Chester's, and we ran into him at a Buck o' Nine show at Bodie's here in San Diego, and he agreed to fill out our horn section. I subsequently found Lee Razo, another very good lead guitarist. I recently met up with Boris Burtin, a keyboardist I met through these home pages. I now have two drummers, three guitarists (myself included), a horn section, a keyboardist, and a bassist (myself). I'm still looking for other singers (John Connelly sings very well, and I have two female singers I'm talking to), and I'd love to have another bassist.
During all this time, I was building up the studios equipment to match all this great talent. I'll just point you to my equipment page to see what I've got going there.
That's how the studio got to where it is today. It took two years, and I'm just releasing material now! Soon, this will be a link to our studio philosophy, to give you a better idea *why* we are here today.
Write to me...